Method for manufacturing an impeller of a blower, method for manufacturing and inspecting the impeller, impeller of a blower, and blower

Abstract

To provide a manufacturing method of an impeller of a blower that allows a shroud and a face plate, which are components of an impeller, to be appropriately set in a desired direction by simple means, and is suitable for mechanizing and automating manufacturing work of the impeller.SOLUTION: In a manufacturing method of an impeller of a blower, a plurality of notch-like concave parts 70A and 70B provided at outer peripheral edge parts with an equal angle interval are used as a shroud 7A and a face plate 7B. When executing an assembly step of an impeller I, position detection of the plurality of notch-like concave parts 70A and 70B is executed using sensors 81 and 82 (81' and 82'). A positioning step is executed for controlling angle arrangement around the center of the shroud 7A and the face plate 7B to prescribed angle arrangement so that the plurality of notch-like concave parts 70A and 70B are brought into prescribed first arrangement.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0003]

[0001] The present invention relates to a technology related to a blower device such as a centrifugal blower device.

Background Art

[0002] As specific examples of the blower device, there are those described in Patent Documents 1 to 3. The blower devices described in these documents include an impeller driven to rotate by a motor. This impeller includes a plurality of blade portions arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and a shroud and a front plate having a hollow or solid substantially disc shape that sandwich these plurality of blade portions from both sides thereof (the shroud and the front plate may sometimes be referred to as a front shroud and a rear shroud, respectively). As means for fixedly connecting the plurality of blade portions, the shroud, and the front plate to each other, for example, means is used in which claw portions provided on the plurality of blade portions are inserted into a plurality of claw holes provided on the shroud and the front plate and caulked.

[0003] Conventionally, as described below, there are problems to be solved.

[0004] That is, conventionally, the above-described impeller has been assembled by manual work. Therefore, the productivity of the blower device is not good, and the manufacturing cost is relatively high. To solve this, it is conceivable to mechanize and automate the assembly work of the impeller. In this case, there may be a case where the orientations of the shroud and the front plate constituting the impeller (the angular arrangement (angular phase) around their centers) are set to desired orientations. In contrast, conventionally, no means has been proposed that can appropriately respond to such demands.

[0005] For example, after assembling an impeller, it may be desirable to attach the impeller to the drive shaft of a separately prepared inspection device and rotate it to perform inspections related to rotational balance, etc. In such cases, it would be preferable if the assembled impeller could be easily and quickly attached to the drive shaft of the inspection device by mechanical means. However, the drive hole of the impeller into which the drive shaft is inserted is, for example, a D-shaped hole to prevent free rotation, so this D-shaped hole must be oriented to properly fit with the drive shaft of the inspection device. However, this has been difficult in the past. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-98214 [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 4322012 Publication [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 5920378 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0007] The present invention was conceived under the circumstances described above, and aims to provide a method for manufacturing an impeller for a blower, as well as a method for manufacturing and inspecting an impeller for a blower, which allows the shroud and faceplate, components of the impeller, to be appropriately set to a desired orientation by simple means, and is suitable for mechanizing and automating the manufacturing process of the impeller. It also aims to provide an impeller for a blower suitable for implementing such a method, and a blower equipped with this impeller. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following technical measures.

[0009] A method for manufacturing an impeller for a blower, provided in a first aspect of the present invention, is a method for manufacturing an impeller for a blower, comprising an assembly step of assembling an impeller by combining a plurality of blades arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, sandwiched between a plurality of substantially disc-shaped shrouds and faceplates facing each other, wherein the shrouds and faceplates are provided with a plurality of notched recesses at equal angular intervals on their outer edges, and further comprising a positioning step of using a sensor to detect the position of the plurality of notched recesses when performing the assembly step, and controlling the angular arrangement of the shrouds and faceplates around their respective centers to a predetermined angular arrangement so that the plurality of notched recesses are in a predetermined first arrangement.

[0010] This configuration yields the following effects: In other words, in the assembly process of assembling an impeller by combining multiple blades, shrouds, and faceplates, by using sensors to detect multiple notched recesses provided on the outer edges of the shrouds and faceplates and controlling them so that they are in a predetermined first arrangement, it is possible to easily and accurately set the orientation (angle arrangement around the center) of the shrouds and faceplates to a predetermined orientation by simple means. Therefore, this is preferable for mechanizing and automating the impeller assembly work. Since multiple notched recesses are provided at equal angular intervals, it is possible to prevent the impeller's center of gravity from becoming unbalanced due to the presence of these notched recesses, thereby appropriately avoiding deterioration of the impeller's rotational balance.

[0011] In the present invention, preferably, the plurality of wing portions are provided with a plurality of claw portions that protrude toward the shroud and the faceplate, while the shroud and the faceplate are each provided with a plurality of claw holes into which the plurality of claw portions are inserted at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction, and in the positioning step, the position of the plurality of claw holes is detected using the sensor or a sensor different from the sensor, and the plurality of notched recesses are set to the first arrangement and the plurality of claw holes are set to a predetermined second arrangement.

[0012] With this configuration, the orientation (angled arrangement around the center) of the shroud and faceplate can be set to a predetermined orientation by utilizing not only the multiple notched recesses provided in the shroud and faceplate, but also the multiple claw holes provided in the shroud and faceplate. Therefore, compared to the case where only the multiple notched recesses are used, it is possible to set the orientation of the shroud and faceplate to the desired orientation with greater precision.

[0013] In the present invention, preferably, when the total number of the plurality of notched recesses in the shroud and the faceplate is Na, and the number of divisions of the circumference by the plurality of claw holes is Nb, Nb is a non-integer multiple of Na.

[0014] With this configuration, compared to the case where Nb is an integer multiple of Na, there are more variations in the arrangement of multiple notched recesses in a predetermined first configuration and multiple claw holes in a predetermined second configuration. Therefore, the orientation (angle arrangement around the center) of the shroud and faceplate can be set more precisely to the desired orientation.

[0015] A method for manufacturing and inspecting a blower impeller provided by a second aspect of the present invention is a method for manufacturing and inspecting a blower impeller, wherein, after carrying out a method for manufacturing a blower impeller provided by a first aspect of the present invention, an inspection step is performed to inspect the impeller manufactured by this method, wherein the faceplate is provided with a non-circular drive hole in the center, and in the inspection step, an inspection drive rotating shaft having a non-circular cross-section corresponding to the drive hole is inserted into the drive hole in a manner that prevents it from rotating freely, thereby setting the impeller to be supported by the drive rotating shaft, and in the method for manufacturing the blower impeller, the impeller is subjected to the inspection step of The device is characterized by setting the orientation of the drive hole to a orientation corresponding to the non-circular cross-section of the drive rotation shaft before moving it to its position.

[0016] With this configuration, in addition to obtaining the same effects as described for the method of manufacturing an impeller for a blower provided by the first aspect of the present invention, the following further effects can be obtained. In other words, after the impeller assembly process and the manufacturing of the impeller is completed, the impeller undergoes an inspection process. of Before moving the impeller to its position, the orientation of the non-circular drive hole in the impeller is set to correspond to the non-circular cross-section of the drive shaft used for inspection. This facilitates the process of inserting the non-circular cross-section of the drive shaft into the drive hole of the impeller and supporting the impeller on the drive shaft. Therefore, this is also preferable for mechanizing and automating this process.

[0017] An impeller for a blower provided by a third aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of blades arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, and a substantially disc-shaped shroud and faceplate facing each other so as to sandwich the plurality of blades, and further comprises a plurality of notched recesses provided at equal angular intervals on the outer peripheral edge of at least one of the shroud and faceplate, which can be used for positioning the shroud and faceplate.

[0018] According to such a configuration, it is suitable for implementing the manufacturing method of the impeller of the blower device provided by the first aspect of the present invention. Therefore, it becomes possible to easily and accurately set the orientation (angular arrangement around the center) of the shroud and the front plate by simple means, which is preferable for mechanizing and automating the assembly work of the impeller. Since a plurality of notch-shaped recesses are provided at equal angular intervals, it is possible to appropriately avoid the occurrence of bias in the center of gravity of the impeller due to the presence of these notch-shaped recesses and the deterioration of the rotational balance of the impeller.

[0019] In the present invention, preferably, the plurality of notch-shaped recesses in the shroud and the plurality of notch-shaped recesses in the front plate are arranged so as to overlap each other in a view in the axial length direction of the impeller.

[0020] According to such a configuration, the following effects can be obtained. That is, if the arrangement of the notch-shaped recesses provided in the shroud and the notch-shaped recesses provided in the front plate is different, a configuration is formed in which the plurality of notch-shaped recesses are dispersed at many locations. In this case, when the impeller is driven to rotate, the air flow is likely to be disturbed at many locations where the notch-shaped recesses are provided, and there is a risk of increased noise. On the contrary, according to the above configuration, the plurality of notch-shaped recesses are provided in an aggregated manner and are made close to a configuration in which the total number of notch-shaped recesses is reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the disturbance of the air flow during the driving rotation of the impeller and reduce the noise. Also, for example, when positioning the impeller at a predetermined location using a separately prepared positioning pin, the positioning pin engaged with the notch-shaped recess of the shroud can also be simultaneously engaged with the notch-shaped recess of the front plate in an overlapping arrangement. That is, when trying to engage the positioning pin with the notch-shaped recess of the shroud, it is possible to prevent the front plate from interfering with the positioning pin inappropriately. Therefore, it is also possible to appropriately position and fix the entire impeller using the positioning pin.

[0021] In the present invention, preferably, a plurality of claw portions are provided on the plurality of blade portions and project toward the shroud and the front plate side, and a plurality of claw holes into which the claw portions are inserted are provided in the shroud and the front plate at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. A non-circular drive hole is provided at the center of the front plate. By setting the plurality of notch-shaped recesses and the plurality of claw holes in a predetermined arrangement, the drive hole can be controlled to have a predetermined orientation.

[0022] According to such a configuration, not only the plurality of notch-shaped recesses provided in the shroud and the front plate, but also the plurality of claw holes provided in the shroud and the front plate are utilized to set the orientations (angular arrangements around the center) of the shroud and the front plate to a predetermined orientation. Therefore, it is possible to more accurately set the orientations of the shroud and the front plate to a predetermined orientation.

[0023] The blower provided by the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized by including the impeller of the blower provided by the third aspect of the present invention.

[0024] According to such a configuration, the same operational effects as those described for the impeller of the blower provided by the third aspect of the present invention can be obtained.

[0025] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following description of the embodiments of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] [Figure 1] It is a perspective view showing an example of the blower according to the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view of the blower shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] It is a perspective view of the impeller of the blower shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] It is a plan view of the impeller shown in FIG. 3. [Figure 5]Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the VV section. [Figure 6] (a) is a plan view of the impeller shroud shown in Figures 3 to 5, and (b) is a cross-sectional view thereof. [Figure 7] (a) is a plan view of the impeller faceplate shown in Figures 3 to 5, and (b) is a cross-sectional view thereof. [Figure 8] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the manufacturing and inspection method for the impeller of a blower according to the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a key part showing an example of how the impeller shroud is handled in the method shown in Figure 8. [Figure 10] (a) to (c) are schematic plan views of key parts illustrating an example of the shroud positioning process shown in Figure 9. [Figure 11] (a) is a schematic plan view of the main part showing an example of the shroud placed on the assembly work table after the positioning process shown in Figure 10 has been performed, and (b) is a schematic side cross view of the main part. [Figure 12] (a) is a schematic plan view of the main part showing an example of the process of assembling the wing section to the shroud shown in Figure 11, and (b) is a schematic side cross view of the main part. [Figure 13] Figure 12 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a key part showing an example of a state in which multiple fin sections are assembled to the shroud by the process shown. [Figure 14] This is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a key part showing an example of how the impeller faceplate is handled in the method shown in Figure 8. [Figure 15] (a) to (c) are schematic plan views of the main parts showing an example of the positioning process of the faceplate shown in Figure 14. [Figure 16] Figure 8 is a schematic side cross-sectional view of a key part showing an example of the crimping process in the method shown. [Figure 17] (a) is a schematic side cross-sectional view of the main parts showing an example of setting a manufactured impeller in an inspection device, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of (a) along line XVII-XVII. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0027] Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

[0028] The blower A shown in Figures 1 and 2 is of the centrifugal type and comprises an impeller I, a casing 2 that houses the impeller I, and a motor M for driving the impeller I to rotate.

[0029] The casing 2 comprises a front side wall portion 21 with an air intake port 24 formed therein, a rear side wall portion 22 that is spaced apart from the front side wall portion 21, and a peripheral wall portion 20. A motor mounting plate 23 to which the motor M is screwed is attached to the rear side wall portion 22 using screws 90. The motor mounting plate 23 closes the opening 22a in the rear side wall portion 22 for inserting and removing the impeller I. The peripheral wall portion 20 surrounds the outer circumference of the impeller I and has an air outlet 4a at its upper part. Between the outer circumference of the impeller I and the peripheral wall portion 20, an air passage 4 is formed that guides the air flowing out from the inter-blade passage 61 of the impeller I (described later) to the air outlet 4a. The rotating shaft 30 of the motor M is inserted through the drive hole 78 of the faceplate 7B of the impeller I, which will be described later. A nut 31 is screwed onto the rotating shaft 30, and the impeller I is attached and fixed to the rotating shaft 30 by tightening the nut.

[0030] As clearly shown in Figures 2 to 5, the impeller I comprises a shroud 7A, a faceplate 7B, and multiple blade sections 5.

[0031] In this embodiment, the multiple blade sections 5 are multiple blade plates made of thin metal plates. However, it is not limited to this, and it is also possible to form multiple blade sections by bending multiple parts of a single metal member, as described in Patent Document 1, and to have a configuration in which these multiple blade sections are integrally connected. The blower A in this embodiment is a radial fan, and the multiple blade sections 5 are arranged radially at intervals in the circumferential direction of the impeller I, and extend substantially linearly in the radial direction of the impeller I. Inter-blade passages 61 are formed between the multiple blade sections 5, and the region of the impeller I closer to the center than the multiple blade sections 5 is a central space 60 that communicates with the multiple inter-blade passages 61.

[0032] Each blade portion 5 is sandwiched and fixed between the shroud 7A and the faceplate 7B. As a means of securing them, multiple fixing claw portions 51 (51a to 51e) are provided protruding from both side edges of each blade portion 5. These claw portions 51 are inserted into multiple claw holes 71 (71a to 71e) provided in the shroud 7A and the faceplate 7B and crimped.

[0033] As clearly shown in Figure 6, the shroud 7A is a hollow, roughly disc-shaped structure with an intake opening 79 formed in the front center. As clearly shown in Figure 7, the faceplate 7B is a hollow, roughly disc-shaped structure with a drive hole 78 (D-hole) in the center, and its outer diameter is approximately the same as that of the shroud 7A. More precisely, the shroud 7A and faceplate 7B are bell-mouth-shaped (hollow, roughly frustoconical) or close to it, but the area near the outer edge is disc-shaped and is included in the roughly disc-shaped (hollow) structure as defined in this invention. In this invention, for example, the faceplate 7B can also be a solid, roughly disc-shaped structure without a hole (opening) in the center.

[0034] As shown in Figure 6, the shroud 7A has multiple claw holes 71 (71a, 71b) Multiple notched recesses 70A are provided. Each of the multiple claw holes 71a, 71b is a hole into which the claws 51a, 51b of each of the aforementioned blades 5 are inserted, and they are arranged at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. In this embodiment, the total number of multiple blades 5 is, for example, "42". Therefore, the pitch angle α of each of the claw holes 71a, 71b is approximately 8.57°.

[0035] Multiple notched recesses 70A are provided at four equal angular intervals (pitch angle β is 90°) on the outer edge of the shroud 7A. These multiple notched recesses 70A are made to be the same shape and size, taking care to ensure that the balance is not disrupted when the impeller I rotates. In addition, each notched recess 70A is positioned to avoid the areas where the blades 5 are provided. As shown in the partially enlarged view of Figure 6, each notched recess 70A is, for example, a substantially semicircular or substantially arched recess that forms a curved inner peripheral edge 72. Preferably, the radius of curvature R of the curved inner peripheral edge 72 is the same as the radius of the positioning pin 81, which will be described later.

[0036] As shown in Figure 7, the faceplate 7B is provided with multiple claw holes 71 (71c to 71e) as well as multiple notched recesses 70B. Each of the multiple claw holes 71c to 71e is a hole into which the claws 51c to 51e of each of the aforementioned wing parts 5 are inserted, and they are arranged at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. The pitch angle α is the same as the pitch angle α of the claw holes 71 of the shroud 7A.

[0037] Multiple notched recesses 70B are provided at four equal angular intervals (pitch angle β is 90°) on the outer edge of the faceplate 7B, and their shapes and sizes are identical. However, in the assembled state of the impeller I, as clearly shown in Figure 4, in a plan view (view in the direction of the impeller's axis), they are arranged to overlap with the notched recesses 70A of the shroud 7A. The shape and size of these notched recesses 70B are, for example, identical to those of the notched recesses 70A. Therefore, these notched recesses 70B are also roughly semicircular or bow-shaped, having a curved inner peripheral edge 72 curved with an appropriate radius of curvature R, as shown in the partially enlarged view of Figure 7.

[0038] In this embodiment, the total number Na of notched recesses 70A and 70B in the shroud 7A and faceplate 7B, respectively, is "4". In contrast, the number of divisions of the circumference by the multiple claw holes 71 (the number of claw holes 71a to 71e, which in this embodiment is the same as the total number of wing portions 5) is "42". Therefore, in this embodiment, Nb is a non-integer multiple of Na. This results in the effect that even if only the notched recesses 70A and 70B are set to a predetermined angular arrangement around the center of the shroud 7A and faceplate 7B, the angular arrangement of the claw holes 71 cannot always be set to the same phase. Therefore, it becomes possible to control the angular arrangement of the shroud 7A and faceplate 7B more precisely.

[0039] Next, an example of a manufacturing and inspection method for the impeller I of the blower A described above will be explained.

[0040] To manufacture the impeller I, as shown in Figure 8, the following steps are performed: positioning step S1 of the shroud 7A, attaching step S2 of the blades 5 to the shroud 7A, positioning step S3 of the faceplate 7B, attaching step S4 of the faceplate 7B to the upper side of the blades 5, and connecting and fixing step (crimping step) S5 of the shroud 7A, blades 5 and faceplate 7B. After that, inspection step S6 of the impeller I is performed. Specifically, each of these steps is as follows.

[0041] [S1 Positioning process for shroud 7A] The positioning step S1 of the shroud 7A is a step of using the shroud positioning device 8A to set the angular arrangement of the shroud 7A around its center to a predetermined position. As shown in Figure 9, the shroud positioning device 8A includes a rotary table 80A that can be rotated horizontally by a motor M1, and first and second sensors. 82,83 It is equipped with the following. The shroud 7A, located at the waiting area Pa for the shroud 7A, is loaded onto the rotary table 80A using a shroud transfer device (not shown).

[0042] First and second sensors82,83 For example, a reflective optical sensor can determine whether a notched recess 70A and a claw hole 71 are located at two detection target positions P1 and P2 shown in Figure 10, respectively. The relative angle between the two detection target positions P1 and P2 is 45°. In Figure 10(a), a notched recess 70A is located at the detection target position P1, and this configuration corresponds to an example of "multiple notched recesses forming a predetermined first arrangement" as described in the present invention. Also, a claw hole 71 is located at the detection target position P2, and this configuration corresponds to an example of "multiple claw holes forming a predetermined second arrangement" as described in the present invention. In the positioning step S1, the angular arrangement around the center of the shroud 7A is controlled with the configuration shown in Figure 10(a) as the target. If the configuration is not the target configuration, the rotary table 80A is rotated to set it to the target configuration. In Figure 10(b), the notched recess 70A is located at the detection target position P1, but the claw hole 71 is not located at the detection target position P2. This is because the angular arrangement around the center of the shroud 7A is shifted by 90° compared to the target configuration in Figure 10(a). In Figure 10(c), the claw hole 71 is located at the detection target position P2, but the notched recess 70A is not located at the detection target position P1. This is because, compared to the target configuration in Figure 10(a), the angular arrangement around the center of the shroud 7A is shifted by approximately 8.57° (pitch angle α).

[0043] [Step S2: Attaching the wing portion 5 to the shroud 7A] Once the positioning process S1 for the shroud 7A is completed, the shroud 7A is transferred from the rotary table 80A of the shroud positioning device 8A to the blade mounting device 8, as shown in Figure 9. The blade mounting device 8 includes a workpiece mounting table 80, which is a rotary table that can be rotated horizontally by a motor M3, and a plurality of positioning pins 81 erected on this table 80. The transfer of the shroud 7A from the shroud positioning device 8A to the blade mounting device 8 is performed by mechanical operation using a shroud transfer device (not shown) that can be placed on the table 80, by gripping the shroud 7A on the rotary table 80A with a suitable holder and moving it. During this transfer operation of the shroud 7A, the angle arrangement of the shroud 7A around its center is not changed, and it is placed on the table 80 in the same angle arrangement as shown in Figure 10(a).

[0044] Figure 11 shows the shroud 7A placed on the table 80. As is clearly shown in the enlarged view of Figure 11(a), a portion of the outer surface of the positioning pin 81 engages with the multiple notched recesses 70A of the shroud 7A. This ensures that the shroud 7A is properly fixed on the table 80. As previously described, since the radius of curvature R of the curved inner peripheral edge 72 of the notched recess 70A is the same as the radius of the positioning pin 81, it is possible to bring the positioning pin 81 and the curved inner peripheral edge 72 into contact without any gap between them, thereby improving the positioning accuracy of the shroud 7A.

[0045] After the shroud 7A is placed and secured on the table 80, the blade section 5 is attached to the shroud 7A as shown in Figure 12. This attachment is performed using a blade section transfer device equipped with a holder 88, which takes out the blade sections 5 one by one from the rack 89 containing multiple blade sections 5, holds them, and then places the blade section 5 on the shroud 7A by inserting the claw sections 51a and 51b of the blade section 5 into the claw holes 71a and 71b of the shroud 7A. Each time one of the impeller blades 5 is placed on the shroud 7A, the table 80 rotates by approximately 8.57° (pitch angle α), and the newly removed blade 5 from the rack 89 is placed in an empty position adjacent to the previous blade 5. This process is repeated. As a result, an intermediate impeller I'' with multiple blades 5 mounted on the shroud 7A is manufactured, as shown in Figure 13.

[0046] [Positioning process S3 for panel 7B] As shown in Figure 14, a faceplate 7B is further attached to the aforementioned impeller intermediate product I'', but prior to this, a positioning step S3 for the faceplate 7B is performed. The positioning step S3 for the faceplate 7B is similar to the positioning step S1 for the shroud 7A described earlier, and is a step in which the angle arrangement of the faceplate 7B around its center is set to a predetermined position using the faceplate positioning device 8B shown in Figure 14. The faceplate positioning device 8B is equipped with a rotary table 80B that can be rotated horizontally by a motor M2, and first and second sensors 81', 82', which are the same as those equipped in the shroud positioning device 8A described earlier. Therefore, a detailed explanation of their configurations will be omitted. The faceplate 7B, located at the waiting area Pb for the faceplate 7B, is placed onto the rotary table 80B using a faceplate transfer device (not shown).

[0047] In the positioning step S3 of the faceplate 7B, as shown in Figure 15(a), it is determined whether the notched recess 70B and the claw hole 71 are located at the two detection target positions P1' and P2', respectively, as detected by the first and second sensors 81' and 82'. In the positioning step S3 of the faceplate 7B, the angular arrangement around the center of the faceplate 7B is controlled with the configuration shown in Figure 15(a) as the target configuration. If the configuration is not the target configuration, the rotary table 80B is rotated to set it to the target configuration.

[0048] In the embodiment shown in Figure 15(a), the inner circumferential plane portion 78a of the drive hole portion 78 (D hole) provided in the faceplate 7B is parallel to the straight line SL which is the center line. As will be described later, this angle allows the drive hole portion 78 to be smoothly fitted to the non-circular cross-section portion 91 of the drive rotating shaft 90 installed in inspection step S6. Figures 15(b) and (c) show embodiments in which the angular arrangement around the center of the faceplate 7B is shifted by 90° (pitch angle β) and approximately 8.57° (pitch angle α) compared to Figure 15(a), but in either case, the inner circumferential plane portion 78a of the drive hole portion 78 is not parallel to the straight line SL.

[0049] [Step S4: Attaching the faceplate 7B to the upper side of the blade section 5] After the positioning step S3 of the faceplate 7B is completed, the faceplate 7B is attached to the upper side of the blade portion 5 using a faceplate attachment device (not shown) in step S4. In this step S4, as shown in Figure 14, the faceplate 7B is picked up from the rotary table 80B and placed on the blade portion 5 of the impeller intermediate product I" on the table 8. At this time, the claw portions 51c to 51e of the blade portion 5 are set to be inserted into the claw holes 71c to 71e of the faceplate 7B. This attachment work of the faceplate 7B is performed using the faceplate attachment device, which is equipped with a transfer device (not shown) capable of gripping and moving the faceplate 7B.

[0050] During the transfer and installation of the faceplate 7B, the angular arrangement of the faceplate 7B around its center remains unchanged. Therefore, the faceplate 7B, with the angular arrangement shown in Figure 15(a), is positioned opposite the shroud 7A with the angular arrangement shown in Figure 10(a) and the multiple fin portions 5 attached to the shroud 7A, and these can be appropriately combined. Furthermore, in the step S4 of attaching the faceplate 7B to the upper side of the wing portion 5, and in the crimping step S5 described below, it is not necessary to rotate the table 80. Therefore, in the locations where steps S4 and S5 are performed, the table 80 can be configured without a motor for rotating it.

[0051] [S5: Connecting and fixing process of shroud 7A, wing section 5, and faceplate 7B (crimping process)] After completing the step S4 of attaching the faceplate 7B to the upper side of the blade section 5 and manufacturing the impeller intermediate product I', a press device (not shown) is used to compress and deform the claw sections 51 (51a to 51e) of the blade section 5 using a press process (crimping process), as shown in Figure 16. This connects and fixes the shroud 7A, the blade section 5, and the faceplate 7B, and the impeller I is manufactured. Although Figure 16 shows the impeller I placed on a table 80, the press process described above may be performed on a different press-dedicated table.

[0052] [Inspection process S6] After manufacturing the impeller I through the series of processes S1 to S5 described above, an inspection process S6 of the impeller I is performed. This inspection process S6 is performed using an inspection device equipped with an inspection drive shaft 90 rotated by a motor M4, as shown in Figure 17, for example. More specifically, the drive shaft 90 is inserted into a drive hole 78 provided in the faceplate 7B of the impeller I. This setting is performed using an impeller transfer device (not shown) that grips and moves the impeller I.

[0053] However, when transferring the impeller I as described above, the impeller I is inverted vertically so that the faceplate 7B is positioned below the impeller I, without rotating the impeller I around its center. Before the inversion of the impeller I, the inner circumferential plan portion 78a of the drive hole 78 of the faceplate 7B is oriented as shown in the partially enlarged plan view of Figure 17(a). In contrast, the drive rotating shaft 90 has a non-circular cross-section portion 91 with two flat surfaces 91a. When the work of mounting the impeller I onto the drive rotating shaft 90 begins, the orientation of these two flat surfaces 91a is set to correspond to the orientation of the inner circumferential plan portion 78a of the drive hole 78, as shown in Figure 17(b). Therefore, it is possible to properly insert the non-circular cross-section portion 91 of the drive rotating shaft 90 into the drive hole 78.

[0054] The impeller I is mounted on the drive shaft 90 in a manner that prevents it from free-rotating, and in inspection step S6, the impeller I is actually rotated. This allows for inspection of the rotational balance of the impeller I, and those with good inspection results are used as components of the blower A. If the rotational balance is poor, a balance adjustment notch recess (not shown) is provided separately in the shroud 7A or faceplate 7B to improve the rotational balance. Since this balance adjustment notch recess has a different purpose from the aforementioned notched recesses 70A and 70B, it is not necessary to match its shape, size, or position to those of the notched recesses 70A and 70B.

[0055] [Effect] According to the series of processes S1 to S6 described above, it is possible to appropriately mechanize and automate a series of operations from the manufacturing to the inspection of the impeller I. The positioning process S3 of the faceplate 7B aligns the orientation of the drive hole portion 78, which is the D hole, with the orientation of the non-circular cross-section portion 91 of the inspection drive rotation shaft 90. As previously described, this also makes it possible to mechanize the process of attaching the manufactured impeller I to the inspection drive rotation shaft 90. This also contributes to increasing the productivity of the impeller I.

[0056] Furthermore, the positioning process S1 for the shroud 7A and the positioning process S3 for the faceplate 7B ensure accurate relative positioning of the shroud 7A and the faceplate 7B, enabling the appropriate assembly of multiple blade sections 5 between them with high dimensional accuracy. In addition, since the multiple notched recesses 70A and 70B provided in the shroud 7A and the faceplate 7B are provided at equal angular intervals, these multiple notched recesses 70A and 70B do not worsen the rotational balance of the impeller I. Therefore, the yield during the manufacturing of the impeller I can also be improved.

[0057] As previously described, the multiple notched recesses 70A and 70B are located in overlapping positions in the plan view of Figure 4. Although the locations where the notched recesses 70A and 70B are provided may be prone to generating air turbulence when the impeller I rotates, in this embodiment, these notched recesses 70A and 70B are arranged in an overlapping and concentrated manner. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of locations where air turbulence occurs and to reduce noise caused by air turbulence. Since the notched recesses 70A and 70B are arranged to avoid the blade portion 5, it is possible to further enhance the noise reduction effect.

[0058] [Other embodiments, etc.] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. The specific configuration of the impeller of the blower and each part of the blower according to the present invention can be modified in various ways within the scope intended by the present invention. Furthermore, the specific configuration of each step in the method for manufacturing the impeller of the blower and the method for manufacturing and inspecting the impeller of the blower according to the present invention can also be modified within the scope intended by the present invention.

[0059] In the above-described embodiment, the shroud 7A and the faceplate 7B are provided with four notched recesses 70A and 70B each, but the specific number of these notched recesses 70A and 70B is not limited. In short, it is sufficient that multiple notches are provided at equal angular intervals. Furthermore, the specific shape and size of each of the notched recesses 70A and 70B are not limited, and they can be formed as, for example, roughly triangular or roughly rectangular recesses. The specific number of blades 5 is not limited. Furthermore, as already mentioned, the blades of the impeller in the present invention are not limited to those made using multiple metal plates as in the embodiments described above, but may also be made using a single metal member to form an integral structure, as described in Patent Document 1. Furthermore, although the blower in the above-described embodiment is configured as a radial fan in which each of the multiple blades extends linearly in the radial direction, it can also be configured as, for example, a turbo fan in which each of the multiple blades is curved.

[0060] The blower according to the present invention can be used, for example, to supply combustion air to a burner in a hot water supply system, but its specific applications are not limited and it can be used for a variety of purposes.

[0061] In the method for manufacturing an impeller of a blower according to the present invention, the sensor for detecting the position of the notched recess provided in the shroud and faceplate is not limited to a reflective optical sensor. For example, in addition to other optical sensors such as transmissive optical sensors, sensors other than optical sensors can also be used. A sensor that images the shroud and faceplate and detects the position of the notched recess based on the captured image is also included in the sensors referred to in the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, multiple blades are attached to the upper side of the shroud, and then a faceplate is placed on top of them; however, the impeller assembly procedure is not limited to this. For example, multiple blades may be attached to the upper side of the faceplate, and then the shroud may be placed on top of them.

[0062] The drive hole 78 provided in the faceplate 7B can be a hole other than the D hole. Therefore, the non-circular cross-section 91 of the inspection drive rotation shaft 90 is not limited to a shape corresponding to the D hole. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0063] A Blower I. Impeller 5. Blade section 51 Nail part 7A Shroud 7B Face plate 70A, 70B Notched recess 71 Hole for nail 78 Drive hole 82,83 First and second sensors 81', 82' First and second sensors 90 Drive rotating shaft for inspection 91 Non-circular cross-section

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an impeller for a blower, comprising an assembly step of assembling an impeller by combining multiple blades, shrouds, and faceplates such that multiple blades arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction are sandwiched between opposing, substantially disc-shaped shrouds and faceplates, As the aforementioned multiple wing portions, those provided with multiple claw portions that protrude toward the shroud and the faceplate side are used, The shroud and the faceplate are provided with a plurality of notched recesses and a plurality of claw holes into which the plurality of claws are inserted, arranged at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction. When performing the assembly process, the system further includes a positioning step in which sensors are used to detect the positions of the multiple notched recesses, and the angle arrangement of the shroud and the faceplate around their respective centers is controlled to a predetermined angle arrangement so that the multiple notched recesses are in a predetermined first arrangement. In the positioning step, the position of the plurality of claw holes is detected using the sensor or a sensor different from the sensor, and the plurality of notched recesses are set to the first arrangement and the plurality of claw holes are set to a predetermined second arrangement. A method for manufacturing an impeller for a blower, characterized in that, when Na is the total number of the plurality of notched recesses in the shroud and the faceplate, and Nb is the number of divisions of the circumference by the plurality of claw holes, Nb is a non-integer multiple of Na.

2. A method for manufacturing and inspecting an impeller for a blower, comprising carrying out a manufacturing method for the impeller of the blower and then performing an inspection step for the impeller, The method for manufacturing the impeller of the aforementioned blower is as follows: The impeller has an assembly process in which multiple blades, shrouds, and faceplates are combined and assembled by sandwiching multiple blades, which are spaced apart in the circumferential direction, between opposing, substantially disc-shaped shrouds and faceplates. The shroud and the faceplate are provided with a plurality of notched recesses at equal angular intervals on their outer edges. When performing the assembly process, the position of the multiple notched recesses is detected using a sensor. The system further includes a positioning step of controlling the angular arrangement of the shroud and the faceplate around their respective centers to a predetermined angular arrangement so that the plurality of notched recesses are in a predetermined first arrangement. As the aforementioned faceplate, one is used which has a non-circular drive hole in the center. In the inspection process, an inspection drive rotating shaft having a non-circular cross-section corresponding to the drive hole is inserted into the drive hole in a manner that prevents it from rotating freely, thereby setting the impeller to be supported by the drive rotating shaft. A method for manufacturing and inspecting an impeller for a blower, characterized in that, before moving the impeller to the position of the inspection step, the orientation of the drive hole is set to an orientation corresponding to the non-circular cross-section of the drive rotation shaft.

3. A plurality of wing portions arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction, These multiple wing sections are sandwiched between two opposing, roughly disc-shaped shrouds and faceplates, An impeller for a blower, equipped with, Multiple notched recesses are provided at equal angular intervals on the outer edges of the shroud and the faceplate, respectively, so as to overlap each other when viewed in the direction of the axis of the impeller, and which can be used for positioning the shroud and the faceplate. Multiple claw portions provided on the multiple wing portions and protruding toward the shroud and the faceplate side, Multiple claw holes are provided on the shroud and the faceplate, respectively, at equal angular intervals in the circumferential direction, into which the claw portion is inserted. A non-circular drive hole is provided in the center of the aforementioned panel, It also has the following features: When Na is the total number of the multiple notched recesses in the shroud and the faceplate, and Nb is the number of divisions of the circumference by the multiple claw holes, Nb is a non-integer multiple of Na. An impeller for a blower, characterized in that the drive hole can be set to a desired orientation by setting the plurality of notched recesses and the plurality of claw holes in a predetermined arrangement.

4. A blower characterized by comprising an impeller of the blower described in claim 3.

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